I do remember as a little kid in the 1950s being taken downtown by my parents on daytime shopping trips as well as to restaurants at night and being amazed by the wall-to-wall pedestrian traffic along Ste. Catherine Street which was then a two-way jammed with cars, trucks, and streetcars inching along in both directions.
The reduction of such pedestrian activity in subsequent decades can be explained by many factors including the steady de-centralization of business elsewhere (including the suburbs), alternatives such as the Underground City via the Metro, and the elimination of once-ubiquitous parking lots.
Current (2018) ongoing roadwork and dusty, noisy excavation projects have closed several blocks to vehicles and forcing people to crawl at a snails-pace over planking.
Not a friendly place to be right now, but hopefully once the infrastructure work has been completed and pedestrian-only sections of the street are in place, we shall enjoy a revitalized downtown sector such as has been the case for decades with the Rundle Mall, Adelaide, which I found a pleasure to visit some years ago. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rundle_Mall
As for the video above, in addition to the pedestrians milling around and gawking, the presence of people standing in place with their backs to the retail establishments and who are clearly looking toward the street might suggest that vehicular traffic is being blocked by a minor fender-bender, spillage, or excavation work as no doubt a serious accident would certainly generate a larger mob than is seen here.
See vintage Ste. Catherine Street photos through Google Image searches and read historical info:
I remember in the late 60's there was an establishment on the second floor on the south side where "Go-Go" girls would be dancing away in full view of the peds on Ste-Catherine's. They would be wearing mini skirts and "Go-Go" boots. Needless to say that intersection was jammed with mostly men. Looks like they filmed at that spot considering all the guys standing around. My dad would take me there while mom and sis would go shopping at Ogilvy's. Maybe someone has a better recollection of which intersection it was. Stanley perhaps?
The top two photos in the Gazette of September 4, 1956, page 23 (see link below) are a perfect example of how busy St. Catherine Street was during the streetcar era and right after the new Brill and GM TDH-class busses replaced them, filling the air with their diesel fumes.
What appears to be the Lindsay Building at address 1112 on the south side between Peel and Stanley with the edge of the Traymore Retaurant's sign then located at 1107 on the north side.
The bottom photo was taken in front of The Bay (previously Morgan's Department Store) showing gangs of otherwise unemployed men hired to clear snow from the street years before mechanized snow removal equipment existed.
Today, two-way Mount Royal Avenue between Park and Frontenac is similarly jammed with traffic. Plans to turn it into a one-way are yet to be realized. I suspect that the city cannot decide whether to transform it into a one-way east or one-way west. Petitions anyone?
When diesel-engine busses replaced trams along many downtown Montreal streets in 1956, complaints about diesel fumes inevitably began to increase.
Initially, the authorities dismissed these complaints as simply a reaction to "progress" and that such pollution was not detrimental. See: the Gazette of September 15, 1956, page 3 heading "Bus Fumes No Health Hazard..." for the truly laughable attitude taken back then, even suggesting that people "...should get used to the odor..."!
It was first claimed that moving the exhaust pipe from the bottom rear of the bus to an extension nearer the roof would reduce most of the fumes and their smell, but note that the article ends with ..."the fumes are too heavy and settle down again".
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I do remember as a little kid in the 1950s being taken downtown by my parents on daytime shopping trips as well as to restaurants at night and being amazed by the wall-to-wall pedestrian traffic along Ste. Catherine Street which was then a two-way jammed with cars, trucks, and streetcars inching along in both directions.
ReplyDeleteThe reduction of such pedestrian activity in subsequent decades can be explained by many factors including the steady de-centralization of business elsewhere (including the suburbs), alternatives such as the Underground City via the Metro, and the elimination of once-ubiquitous parking lots.
Current (2018) ongoing roadwork and dusty, noisy excavation projects have closed several blocks to vehicles and forcing people to crawl at a snails-pace over planking.
Not a friendly place to be right now, but hopefully once the infrastructure work has been completed and pedestrian-only sections of the street are in place, we shall enjoy a revitalized downtown sector such as has been the case for decades with the Rundle Mall, Adelaide, which I found a pleasure to visit some years ago. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rundle_Mall
As for the video above, in addition to the pedestrians milling around and gawking, the presence of people standing in place with their backs to the retail establishments and who are clearly looking toward the street might suggest that vehicular traffic is being blocked by a minor fender-bender, spillage, or excavation work as no doubt a serious accident would certainly generate a larger mob than is seen here.
See vintage Ste. Catherine Street photos through Google Image searches and read historical info:
https://pacmusee.qc.ca/en/stories-of-montreal/article/sainte-catherine-a-street-at-the-heart-of-montreal/
I remember in the late 60's there was an establishment on the second floor on the south side where "Go-Go" girls would be dancing away in full view of the peds on Ste-Catherine's. They would be wearing mini skirts and "Go-Go" boots. Needless to say that intersection was jammed with mostly men. Looks like they filmed at that spot considering all the guys standing around. My dad would take me there while mom and sis would go shopping at Ogilvy's. Maybe someone has a better recollection of which intersection it was. Stanley perhaps?
ReplyDeleteThe top two photos in the Gazette of September 4, 1956, page 23 (see link below) are a perfect example of how busy St. Catherine Street was during the streetcar era and right after the new Brill and GM TDH-class busses replaced them, filling the air with their diesel fumes.
ReplyDeleteWhat appears to be the Lindsay Building at address 1112 on the south side between Peel and Stanley with the edge of the Traymore Retaurant's sign then located at 1107 on the north side.
https://news.google.ca/newspapers?nid=Fr8DH2VBP9sC&dat=19560905&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
The bottom photo was taken in front of The Bay (previously Morgan's Department Store) showing gangs of otherwise unemployed men hired to clear snow from the street years before mechanized snow removal equipment existed.
Today, two-way Mount Royal Avenue between Park and Frontenac is similarly jammed with traffic. Plans to turn it into a one-way are yet to be realized. I suspect that the city cannot decide whether to transform it into a one-way east or one-way west. Petitions anyone?
Correction to previous post.
ReplyDeleteBelow is the Gazette for September 6, 1956. Scroll to page 23 to find the aforementioned photos of Ste. Catherine St. W.
https://news.google.ca/newspapers?nid=Fr8DH2VBP9sC&dat=19560906&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
When diesel-engine busses replaced trams along many downtown Montreal streets in 1956, complaints about diesel fumes inevitably began to increase.
ReplyDeleteInitially, the authorities dismissed these complaints as simply a reaction to "progress" and that such pollution was not detrimental. See: the Gazette of September 15, 1956, page 3 heading "Bus Fumes No Health Hazard..." for the truly laughable attitude taken back then, even suggesting that people "...should get used to the odor..."!
https://news.google.ca/newspapers?nid=Fr8DH2VBP9sC&dat=19560915&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
It was first claimed that moving the exhaust pipe from the bottom rear of the bus to an extension nearer the roof would reduce most of the fumes and their smell, but note that the article ends with ..."the fumes are too heavy and settle down again".